AEP Ohio will be locating up to three, 200-foot towers in Morrow County that will collect long-term wind data to determine the profile of wind resources in the area, and analyze whether there is sufficient wind to generate electricity economically. If the tests indicate adequate wind resources, the company would consider developing a wind farm, subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.
            “Incorporating renewable energy resources such as wind into our generation fleet fits with the vision of AEP Ohio and that of the state," said Joseph Hamrock, AEP Ohio president and chief operating officer. “Ohio´s new energy law promotes the development of alternative energy by establishing increasing benchmarks for renewable resources by 2025. Although we have proposed to purchase up to 300 megawatts from wind in our Electric Security Plan to meet the state´s near-term benchmarks, the establishment of these test sites will help to confirm the potential for long-term solutions that can benefit Ohio by creating additional jobs and investment in Ohio."
            The test sites are being identified in the Shauck Ridge area in Morrow County, Ohio. These sites are the first step in determining the feasibility of a potential wind farm in the area. Testing combined with engineering, environmental and transmission studies could take up to five years before development of a wind project is green-lighted. Any proposed project would also need approval by the Ohio Power Siting Board.
            AEP owns and operates 310.5 megawatts of wind energy in Texas. AEP also has agreements to purchase 843 megawatts from several wind power facilities in Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition, Indiana Michigan Power, a unit of AEP, is exploring the feasibility of developing a wind farm in east central Indiana. 
            AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Columbus Southern Power Company and Ohio Power Company in Ohio, and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio. The company serves all or part of 61 counties in Ohio and two in West Virginia.
            American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.